Jessica Chastain on Trumpcare, the Gender Pay Gap, and Her Guilty Pleasure

Inside a sunlit, truly massive suite at the St. Regis in Manhattan, there are sweet-smelling tuberose flowers everywhere. But the grandness is overshadowed by the redhead with porcelain skin on the couch, and maybe you’ve heard of her — Jessica Chastain. She starts slowly swinging a long thin leg and, holy cow, even her fidgeting is elegant. She’s here to talk about Ralph Lauren Woman, a new feminine scent of tuberose and sandalwood. And she has a way of speaking that’s warm, with the thoughtfulness of someone who’s never fired off a 2 A.M. Tweet. “My private life is so valuable, and I don’t want to sell it — it’s cheap,” says Chastain. It’s the first clue she’s not one to mince words. Just take a look at some of the things we chatted about in that gorgeous hotel room:

On Ralph Lauren Woman: “My grandmother wore a scent that was very soft, but also woodsy, which is what I like about this one. The softness of the tuberose kind of blends with the exoticness of the woods. I love that richness.”

On aging: “There’s a lot of criticism on how an actress is aging. Why do we do that with women? I work with a lot of men who take terrible care of themselves — they drink too much, or they eat too much. We need to allow women to age.”

On stereotypes: “I do know that people treat me different with blonde hair than they do with red hair. When I was [blonde] for The Help, I could tell men felt very drawn to [me]. With Miss Sloane, [a redhead,] men were more intimidated.”

On Trumpcare: “I grew up in a low-income family. I was raised by a single mother. My grandmother had a child when she was a teenager — she [was] taught abstinence, the least effective form of birth control. When you take away healthcare from women, you’re keeping women out of the workforce, because you’re eliminating their choice of when to start a family. I’m the first person in my family to go to college, and create a career for myself. Planned Parenthood is where I got my birth control pills.”

On her dirty secret: “I love all the Housewives reality shows. It’s so against all the movies I do! But I love it, and I find my characters from it, because it’s a heightened reality. Vanderpump Rules? Heaven. I used a lot of Teresa from The Real Housewives of New Jersey for A Most Violent Year. I need a character that’s Erika Jayne [from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills] — I’ll be in some movie, and you’ll see that. She just looks like a Barbie doll.”

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On the power of scent: “When I was a little girl, I would sneak into [my grandmother’s] room and smell her sweaters, because she still had perfume on them. At a very young age, I knew I wanted people to be drawn to me in that way. Perfume says a lot about you before you even say anything about yourself.... I have a different perfume for every character I play. Celia Foot was

. Marilyn Monroe only wore Chanel No. 5 to bed, so I thought, ‘oh, this is perfect.’”

On her skin secret: “I have so many sunscreens. It has to be above 50. Right now, I’m wearing a La Mer one... And I like La Mer eye cream. The one I use smells like seaweed.”

On that amazing hair of hers: “I use Kérastase hair masks. I just leave it in, and I sleep in it overnight, which is probably what you’re not supposed to do, but... Oh, and I use silk pillows. It’s very important for your hair and your skin. It’s just kind of my go to thing. Plus, it just feels nice.”

On standing her ground: “I would be very happy taking a film part and the male actor getting less [money] if it meant the we were both being fairly compensated for our work. I have a difficulty with my value being determined by what’s left over after the male actor has taken a share. I just don’t allow it anymore.”

On makeup mistakes: “We were in a phase for a while where there was all this shading and trying to change your face — just so much makeup. And I’ve noticed, with myself, that the less makeup someone puts on me, [the more] I look more like myself. Makeup can be very aging if it’s overdone. Less makeup makes everyone look younger.”

On a skin savior: “I’m a big mister. I love rosewater on airplanes. I also use the SK-II Essence. I put that in a little spray bottle and use that on airplanes.”